Machine for removing shoes from lasts



Dec. 12, 1939. J WHELTQN 2,182,832

MACHINE FOR REMOVING SHOES FROM LASTS Filed Feb. 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 12, 1939.

J. M. WHELTQN MACHINE FOR REMOVING SHOES FROM LASTS Fi led Feb. 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /A/ VE/V 7UP Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNiTED STATES PATENT orric- John M. Whelton, Peabody, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 24, 1938, Serial No. 192,340

12 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for removing shoes from lasts. It is an object of the invention to provide a simple machine of that type, which will be both effective and economical in operation.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, the illustrated machine is provided with a swingable support for a last with a shoe thereon and swingable 'delasting means, preferably in the form of a friction pad, for engagement with the counter portion of the shoe upon swinging movement of the last and shoe support, the arrangement being such that the swinging movement of the friction pad upon pressure of the shoe thereagainst is yieldingly resisted by spring means or its equivalents.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, means is provided, in the illustrated machine, for locking the friction pad against swinging movement, the said locking means, however, preferably being releasable upon further swinging movement of the last support to permit swinging movement of the friction pad under pressure of the shoe and against the action of its spring means.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the friction pad serving to delast the shoe is provided with a plane shoe-engaging sur face normally positioned such that it is a chord of the are described by the counter portion of the shoe, with the result that upon swinging movement of the support for the last and shoe the counter portion of the shoe is brought into engagement with the friction pad and pressed thereagainst. This causes the shoe to be held against further movement and its counter portion to be stripped from the last, the swinging movement of which continues.

With the above and other features in view, the invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of part of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are views, partly in section, of the principal operating instrumentalities of the apparatus, illustrating two different stages in the process of removing a shoe from a last.

The illustrated preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a base plate I which is secured by means of screws 5 to a table or work bench 2. The base plate I has integral with it two side frame portions 3 (Fig. 2). In the upper J left extremities, as viewed in Fig. 1, of the side frame portions 3 are provided bearings for alined fulcrum studs 1 and 9, to which are secured the ends of a yoke member I I (Fig. 2). Secured to the left-hand portion of the fulcrum stud l, as viewed in Fig. 2, is one end of an arm l3, the other end of which is pivotally secured to a block l5 (Fig. 1) into which is screwed the upper end of a rod ll, the lower end of which is screwed into a similar block pivotally secured at l9 to a foot treadle 2| fulcrumed to a pin 23 journaled in a bearing fixed to the floor. A spring 25 (Fig. 1), one end of which is secured to the treadle 2| and the other end of which is secured to the under surface of the work bench 2, tends to swing the treadle 2| upwardly about the axis of the pin 23, and hence to raise the rod 51 with the result that the yoke I! is swung upwardly against a stop 21 secured to the frame 3. Upon the mid-portion of the yoke H is mounted a block 29 (Fig. 1) having a serrated upper surface. Seated upon the block 29 is a block 31 having its lower surface serrated and in meshing engagement with the upper surface of the, block 29, the two blocks being clamped together" in adjusted position by means of a screw 33 extending through an opening in the block 29 and screwed into the block 3|. Removably secured to the b1ock 3l is a last pin 35 upon which a last L, preferably a hinged last, carrying a shoe S is mounted for the delasting operation.

Arranged in bearings at the upper right-hand portions (as viewed in Fig. 1) of the side frame members 3 is a rock shaft 3! carrying a downwardly extending carrier 39 for a friction pad 4| composed of rubber or similar yielding and compressible material. The friction pad 4| has a straight surface of substantial area for engagement with the counter portion of the shoe upon swinging movement of the last and shoe-supporting yoke H. A strong spring 43, one end of which is seated in a bore provided in a lug 45 of the base plate l and the other end of which is engaged within a bore provided in the lower. rear extremity of the carrier 39, tends to swing the carrier 39 with the friction pad 4! in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, this swinging movement of the carrier 39 being limited by a stop 47 secured to one of the side frame portions 3.

For the purpose of temporarily locking the carrier 39 against swinging movement in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, there is provided a latch 49 pivotally secured at 5| to the lug 45, a spring 53 tending to swing the latch 49 upwardly into latching position in which a shoulder on the latch engages with a shoulder provided at the lower end of the carrier 39.

For the purpose of removing the shoe S from the last L, the carrier 39 and the rubber friction pad ll when held by the spring 43 against the fixed stop ll and also locked by the latch 49 subtends an angle in the machine such that its shoe-engaging surface is a chord of the arc described by the counter portion of the shoe upon downward swinging movement of the yoke ll, under the control of the treadle 2|. This downward swinging movement of the yoke ll causes the counter portion of the shoe to engage the friction pad H and to be pressed thereagainst with the result that the counter portion of the shoe will be arrested by the frictional engagement with the pad H, while the last L and the yoke H, by reason of the continued depression of the treadle 2|, continue their downward movement, thus causing the counter portion of the shoe to be stripped from the last.

For the purpose of relieving undue straining of the counter portion of the shoe, the latch 49 is so positioned that continued downward swinging movement of the yoke ll causes the yoke to engage th latch and trip it so as to release the carrier 39 with the pad 46 for swinging movement about the axis of the shaft 37 against the resistance of the spring 43.

If desired, the latch d9, as illustrated in Fig. 1, may be provided with an adjustable abutment such, for example, as a hand-screw 50 which the downwardly swinging yoke l i may engage at an earlier time in the cycle of operation of the machine with the result that the latch 49 will be caused to release the carrier 39 with the friction pad M at an earlier stage in the delasting operation.

If preferred, the latch 49 may be arranged or the screw 5:) may be adjusted so that the latch id is released only immediately before or even after the conclusion of the downward swinging movement of the yoke I E. In that case the rubber friction pad ll becomes a stationary pad, that is a pad stationary during at least the major portion of, if not the entire, delasting operation.

Finally, the latch 69 may be omitted altogether, thus dep iding entirely upon the spring 43 to maintain the carrier 39 with the pad M in its normal operative position against the fixed stop 5?, at least during the major portion of the delasting operation. In that case, however, it will be necessary to select a spring 43 of sufiicient strength to counter-:act, at least during the major portion of the delasting operation, the pressure of the shoe exerted against the friction pad ti.

In the operation of the illustrated delasting machine, the operator places a last L, carrying a shoe S which is to be removed therefrom, upon the last pin that the latter engages within the thimble hole provided in the last, it being understood that the relative positions of the blocks 29, 3! have been adjusted in accordance with the size of the shoe to be operated upon.

Upon depression of the treadle 2!, the yoke i! carrying the last and shoe is swung downwardly with the result that the counter portion of the shoe is brought into engagement with the friction pad 4!. Further downward movement of the trcadle causes the counter portion of the shoe to sink. into the friction pad M as illustrated in Fig. 3 and to be arrested while the last together with the yoke l l continues to move downwardly, thus removing the counter portion of the shoe from the last. Upon continued downward movement of the treadle the yoke Ii will engage the latch 19 or the screw 58, as the case may be, and will swing the latch 9 downwardly against the resistance of the spring 53 out of engagement with the carrier 4! with the result that the carrier 39 together with its friction pad M is now free to swing, due to the pressure of the shoe thereagainst, in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, this swinging movement being exerted against the pressure of the spring When the counter portion of the shoe is fully stripped from the last, the operator by applying pressure to the forepart of the shoe bottom will break t 1Q last, as illustrated in Fig. 4., the result being that the friction pad 4% follows" the counter portion of the shoe and pushes it forwardly so that the operator will be in a position easily to remove the shoe completely from the last, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

It will be observed that the arcuate movement of the shoe in engagement with the pad inclined as above specified will cause a considerable area of the convex surface of the heel and of the shoe upper to embed itself in the inclined pad without any such concentration of pressure at the edge of the upper as would tend to crumple it.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts. a support for a last with a shoe thereon, a fulcrum on which the said last support is pivotally mounted, means for swinging said last support about said fulcrum, a delasting means engaging the outside of the shoe and positioned in the path of movement of the counter portion of the shoe, a fulcrum on which said delasting means is pivotally mounted, and means for restraining the movement of said delasting means upon pressure of the shoe thereagainst.

2. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a swingable support for a last with a shoe thereon, means for swinging the said last support, swingable delasting means engaging the outside of the shoe, and releasable means for normally holding said delasting means stationary.

3. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a swingable support for a last with a shoe there-- on, means for swinging the said last support, a delasting means engaging the outside of the shoe and mounted for movement upon pressure of the shoe thereagainst, and means for yieldingly resisting the movement of the said delasting means.

4. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a support for a last with a shoe thereon, a fulcrum on which said last support is pivotally mounted, means for swinging said last support in an arcuate path about its fulcrum, a delasting means having a straight surface for engagement with the counter portion of the shoe, and means for positioning said delasting means such that said surface is a chord of the arc described by the counter portion of the shoe upon swinging movement of said last support.

5. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a support for a last with a shoe thereon, a fulcrum on which said last support is pivotally mounted, means for swinging said last support, a friction pad for engagement with the counter portion of the shoe, a fulcrum on which the said pad is pivotally mounted, means for limiting movement of the said pad in one direction, and means for yieldingly restraining movement of the said pad in the opposite direction.

6. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a swingable support for a last with a shoe thereon, means for swinging said last support, a friction pad for engaging the shoe to delast it, a fulcrum on which said pad is pivotally mounted, means for locking the said pad against movement, and means for releasing the said locking means upon continued swinging movement of the said last support.

7. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a swingable support for a last with a shoe thereon, foot-power means for swinging said last support, movable delasting means engaging the outside of the shoe, means for locking said delasting means against movement, means for holding said locking means in operative position, and means for rendering the said locking means inoperative upon continued swinging movement of the said last support.

8. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a swingable support for a last with a shoe thereon, means for swinging said last support in an arcuate path, a normally stationary friction pad for delasting the shoe, the said pad having a straight shoe-engaging surface disposed as a chord of the are described by the counter portion of the shoe upon swinging movement of the said last support.

9. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a movable support for a last with a shoe thereon, means for moving said last support, a movable friction pad for engagement with the counter portion of the shoe to delast the shoe, means for holding the friction pad stationary during the removal of the counter portion of the shoe from the last, and means for permitting the friction pad to move upon removal of the counter portion of the shoe from the last to cause the pad to push the shoe forwardly of the last and assist in complete removal of the shoe from the last.

10. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a support for a last with a shoe thereon, a fulcrum upon which said support is mounted to swing, means for swinging said support, means for limiting said swinging movement of said support, a friction pad having a flat surface for engagement with the counter portion of the shoe, a fulcrum upon which said friction pad is mounted to swing upon pressure of the shoe thereagainst, means for locking said pad against swinging movement, means for releasing said locking means to permit said pad to swing, and means for yieldingly resisting swinging movement of said pad.

11. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a support for a last with a shoe thereon, an arm for carrying said last support, a fulcrum on which said arm is mounted to swing, means for swinging said arm, a rubber friction pad having a fiat surface for engagement with the counter portion of the shoe disposed as a chord of the arc described by the counter portion of the shoe, a fulcrum on which said pad is mounted to swing by the pressure of the shoe thereagainst, a latch for holding said pad against swinging movement, means provided on the said last support for releasing said latch upon continued swinging movement of the said arm, and spring means tending to swing the said pad into latching position and for restraining swinging movement of said pad after the release of said latch.

12. In a machine for removing shoes from lasts, a support for a last having a shoe thereon, a fulcrum on which said last support is mounted to swing, spring means tending to swing said last support into an inoperative position, a friction pad disposed in an inclined position in the machine, and foot-power-operated means for swinging said last support into operative position with the shoe in engagement with said pad.

JOHN M. WHELTON. 

